


Pearls lie not on the seashore

by AJ (anna_panda)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-17 02:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13066890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anna_panda/pseuds/AJ
Summary: “Pearls lie not on the seashore. If thou desirest one thou must dive for it.”





	Pearls lie not on the seashore

"Kenma! Kenma!" Shouyou swam through the water as fast as his fins could carry him, which as it were, was a lot faster than just about everything and everyone in the ocean. 

Kenma often thought that what Shouyou didn't have in his head, he had in his tail. Kenma didn't bother to answer, it wasn't like he was hiding. He was literally just floating in the middle of the ocean, just a few metres below the surface, staring up at the rays filtering through the turquoise water. He hated being the Deep, no matter how many times he was reprimanded for coming up, he just couldn't stop. He hated being down there, everything was dark, he could barely see in front of his face, there was no colour. Kenma couldn't understand how the other merpeople could stand it. 

Perhaps that was why Shouyou was his only best friend. Because he was the only person who could understand why Kenma always left the safety of the Deep, maybe Shouyou didn't swim to the surface for the same reasons as Kenma, but at least he didn't judge him, and try to get him to stop. Kenma came to the surface get away from the Deep, Shouyou came from the Deep to look at the surface. 

"Kenma!" Shouyou spotted him and shot over. "I saw one! I think I saw one!"

"One what?"

Shouyou looked around as if he was going to see someone. There was nothing but blue surrounding them. Kenma loved it. He could see no one, and no one could see him. Occasionally a shoal of fish would swim through, and very rarely a see shark or a turtle, but no other merfolk. 

"A sea witch."

"Isn't that a her?" Was Kenma's first thought which managed to slip past his lips. 

Shouyou pursed his lips. "Really? I thought it was classified as a beast."

"Only because of how they get their magic. People want a distinction between what they were before and what they are now." Kenma usually didn't talk much, but he talked to Shouyou, because Shouyou would listen, something a lot of people didn't do. 

"I remember this. I remember this." Shouyou frowned, his copper tail giving a strong kick and moving him upright. "Something about giving up their pearl."

Kenma nodded. "They break their pearl and use its magic to become witches."

"But when their pearl is broken they lose their connection to the sea." Shouyou said in an ominous voice, swimming in circles around Kenma who was trying very hard not to roll his eyes. 

"Be careful. Or you'll scare yourself again." He said and dived down. 

"Wait! Kenma!" Shouyou followed him. "Don't you wanna go see?"

Kenma shook his head. "It's dangerous."

"But they say sea witches grant wishes."

"That's a myth." Kenma swam deeper and slowly the water around them darkened. 

"But myths can be true."

Kenma stared at Shouyou. "No. That's the whole point of them being a myth."

"Kenma." Shouyou looked at him with wide puppy-dog eyes and Kenma looked away. 

He was not going to give in, he wasn't wrong. Going to look for a sea witch was one of the most dangerous things one could do, more so even than trying to tame a killer whale, which for some reason some twisted merfolk found extremely enjoyable. 

"It might be fun."

"It won't be fun." Kenma kept swimming, but a lot slower than before and he knew Shouyou could tell. 

"It will be." Shouyou bumped shoulders with him. "Please. _She_ might be able to help us."

"Fine." Kenma reached out and grabbed Shouyou's hand before he could shoot off. "Just don't do anything reckless."

Shouyou laughed and sped away, Kenma following at a much slower rate behind him. They swam up for a bit, the water lightening, and just before they could get to where Kenma would be able to feel the warmth of the sun, Shouyou evened out and began to swim in a straight line, parallel to the sky above and the sandy and rocky ground below, neither of which Kenma could see. 

"It, I mean she, was swimming this way." Shouyou pointed to a large cliff, one that stopped just a few metres from the surface, with darkly coloured corals growing across its top which stretched back as far as Kenma could see, with the cliff face itself being full of tiny to massive cave, the smallest snug even for a shrimp, and the largest big enough for a great white. 

"You think she lives here?" Kenma doubted anyone could hear them, but he whispered anyways. 

Shouyou nodded. "Yes. Looks exactly like somewhere a sea witch would live."

Kenma couldn't argue with him there. As much as he tried not to believe in superstitions, there was the small childish part of him that used to cry at every ghost story his mother told him, that kept his heart cold and his voice quiet. Kenma believed in sea witches, but he tried not to believe all the myths and stories surrounding them, but it was difficult not to when you heard them your entire life. 

"Which one?" Shouyou asked and Kenma's eyes immediately drifted to the largest one. "I think it's the big one."

Kenma nodded despite himself, just like he couldn't help being a little scared, or maybe more than a little, he couldn't help being curious. If Shouyou was right, as rarely as he was, they could get to meet, or even just see a sea witch. This was something he might never be able to do again, and as much as he hated caves and anything from which he couldn't see and easily access the exit, Kenma was willing to have a peek. 

Shouyou was more than willing. 

"Let's go!" He dragged Kenma down and soon the two of them were floating in front of the cave. "Do we call out or should we just go in?"

Kenma bit his lip, he was beginning to feel uncomfortable cold, his tail felt heavy and it was getting difficult to move it. 

"I don't feel very well." He said and Shouyou waved his hand. 

"It's just nerves. Let's go!" He moved forwards, pulling Kenma with him, whose tail now felt more than just cold, it had never hurt like this before, it was freezing, pricking into his body with an almost burning sensation.

"No I–" He looked down and his eyes widened in horror. 

One of the fins of his tail had a tiny arrow imbedded in it and almost invisible, was a string connecting the arrow to something way up above. On the surface. Panic overtook him and he tried to pull it out but now even his arms were heavy. 

"Shouyou!" He tried to scream but in his panic it was more of a squeak but still his best friend turned around. 

"Kenma it's–" He must have noticed Kenma panic because he looked down and saw the tiny arrow and immediately dove down. 

The only thing keeping Kenma from sinking to the bottom was the small kicks he was still able to get out of his tail, but the pain he was feeling was sapping all his energy away. The feeling in his arms had spread to his chest, and up his neck. His tongue felt like sand, dry sand and keeping his eyes open was becoming more difficult. Dimly he was aware of Shouyou reaching out to the arrow, he heard a hiss and then Shouyou retracting his hand with a loud cry. He could still see Shouyou, who reached out his hand again, but this time there a shadow behind him.

Shouyou.

He tried to warn him but his mouth wouldn't open, his voice wouldn't come. He couldn't move anymore. He was sinking and Hinata was getting further and further away. Why wasn't Shouyou coming? He tried to keep his eyes open, he could see his best friend struggling against something, could hear him screaming but everything was muffled like it was happening so very far away. And maybe it was. Who knew how far he had sunk? Everything was getting darker, slowly and then he couldn't see. Where his eyes closed? He didn't know, everything hurt, everything was cold, he couldn't think. He just wanted it to stop. And then it did. 

_________________________________

When Kenma came to it felt like his body had through a whirlpool with rocks. It wasn't acute pain like before, but rather dull, pulsing and incessant. His skin felt dry and burnt. He cracked his eyelids open and immediately hissed in pain. It was too bright. Everything had been so harsh and clear cut. Dimly he heard voices around him. 

"Looks like it's finally waking up."

"Might wanna move back."

"Why? Not like it's going anywhere."

They were too loud. Kenma tried to move his hands to his ears but he couldn't move. His hands were bound behind him. The shock was enough for his eyes to shoot open, and despite the pain from his glaring surroundings he managed to keep them open and look down. There was no water. No water anywhere around him. He let out a shaky breath. His tail was gone, in its place, a pair of pale, skinny legs, also bound together at the ankles. He struggled.

"Stop struggling!"

He was hit across the face and he froze. He had forgotten where he was. He slowly looked up, ignoring the pain from his jaw, his whole body felt a lot worse. He was surrounded by rough faces, five men staring down at him, with shocked but sneering expressions. He retracted back from them and one of the men grabbed his arm. He winced but was too scared to struggle.

"Let's show the captain shall we?" 

He was dragged to his feet and across the wooden floor. He looked around him. From what he could gather, he was on a ship. He had never seen one from this angle before, usually Shouyou and him would tail ships, trying to catch glimpses of the humans on them, but staying out of sight themselves. This was the first he'd seen humans up close too. He didn't like it. He was absolutely terrified. He was too scared and overwhelmed to even think about anything. 

The man roughly dragged him across the deck, the wood splintering his the soft skin of his feet. He stumbled but the man ignored him and only pulled harder. The rest of the crew went back to their business, whatever that was. Kenma was beginning to regain his senses, he was on a boat. With humans. This was dangerous, extremely dangerous. This was why merfolk were so discouraged from coming to the surface. Humans were renown for hunting, kidnapping and even killing merfolk.

But maybe they didn't know. Kenma's eyes widened. The arrow. This was serious. These people were hunters. He looked around. But there was only him on this ship, as far as he could see. Which meant they didn't have Shouyou. He looked down, his necklace with still there. A simple string with a small clam, and inside the clam was his pearl. Every nymph had one. It was what made them different from mermaids. Nymphs were born from clams, and at the same time they were born, a pearl was made. This pearl was connected to them, if it was broken a part of them would die with it, and if it was taken by another, they would have complete control over them. 

But that information was jealously guarded, there was no way humans could know that. So maybe it was just a coincidence, more likely they were hunting for a mermaid, whose flesh was said to grant those who ate it immortality. Were they going to eat him? Kenma balked and uselessly dug his heels in, trying to get a grip on the smooth boards of the ship.

"Hey!" The man jerked his arm and Kenma cried out. "Stop struggling!"

He leant in closer. "Or I'm going to have to gut you like the fish you are."

Kenma froze and shivered. There wasn't any doubt anymore, even without his tail, they knew. Maybe they'd seen him transform. Otherwise how would they have known what he was. But the arrow, they must have known. His head ached and he groaned. Nothing made sense. 

The man reached the large cabin at the end of the boat and knocked. A loud voice yelled from inside, Kenma couldn't make out the words and the man dropped his arm to reach out and open the door. He gazed at the edge of the boat and tried to edge forward, but he didn't know how to walk, much less with his legs bound and he tottered forward. '

"For fuck's sake." Before he could fall over, the back of his neck was grabbed and he was dragged painfully upright. 

He bit his lip to stop him from making any noise and the man pushed him through the now open door and into the cabin. It was relatively big, enough so that at least seven men would be able to comfortably fit. It was lit by a small chandelier-esque candle hanging from the ceiling. There was a large desk at the very end, and an empty dark red cushioned chair behind it. As Kenma's eyes rose along with back of the chair they saw who he could only assume was the leader of these people. He was wearing a dark blue coat with golden lining and a large hat that covered his eyes. When the man holding Kenma cleared his throat, he slowly turned around and Kenma's eyes widened, only just managing to stifle a gasp.. Twirling in his hands was a tiny glinting arrow, tinged deep red at the tip. 

"Well. If it isn't our most precious cargo?"

Kenma was once again shoved forward and he stumbled, the man behind him grabbing his hair to pull him upright. Kenma gritted his teeth, refusing to make any noise but couldn't help a groan of pain. 

"Come on now." The other man stepped down from around the desk and came closer, with a smirk. "There's no need to be so rough. We have mustn't damage it."

His eyes trailed down Kenma's bare legs to the bindings that trapped his feet.

"Untie those."

"But Captain–" The man tried to protest but the man only looked at him, with a slightly raised eyebrow and he immediately untied Kenma. 

The latter immediately rubbed his wrists, trying to get the circulation to flow again. He didn't show it on his face but he was extremely relieved, the bindings had been tight enough to cut into his flesh and the last thing he needed was to bleed onto this ship. The Captain walked back over to his desk and this time sat down at the chair, putting the tiny arrow on the table. 

"You can leave now." 

The other man gave something akin to a small bow and exited the small cabin, leaving just Kenma and the captain in the room. The man leant forward and rested his chin on his fingers as he looked at Kenma up and down. Although it had never mattered in the ocean, Kenma was beginning to become conscious of his nakedness, all these men were covered in layers of clothes and he was wearing nothing. 

"I suppose you're curious."

Kenma didn't move and the man laughed. 

"More scared perhaps?"

He still said nothing, but he knew he was trembling. 

The captain picked up the arrow and looked at Kenma. "Recognise this?"

Kenma's eyes landed on the arrow and he felt bile rising in the back of his throat. Evidently his body still remembered its reaction to it. 

"Yes. It looks like you do. It's got a little bit of Blood Hemlock on it."

Kenma had never heard of anything called Blood Hemlock before, but he was willing to bet it was some sort of poison. 

"A poison we were told all mermaids are allergic too." He spun it around his fingers. "I know my men were hoping for a woman, but you'll taste the same either way."

Kenma balked, they were going to eat him. They were going to eat him. All the stories were true, humans were beasts who wouldn't hesitate to eat a mermaid's flesh based on nothing more than myths. 

"We were lucky." The captain was still talking while Kenma's mind whirred, he needed to get out of here. "We didn't really think we'd find one. But that witch was right."

Kenma's trembling had slowed and his eyes' widened. A witch? A former mermaid presumably, one who had given up their tail for legs, they were not as powerful as sea witches but they had strong magic in their own right. And they hated merfolk, as a representation of what they had lost. The captain held the tiny arrow up to the candlelight. 

"She said this metal would find a mermaid. And it led us right to you. All we had to was attach a string to it, and reel you in. And voila. And what a pretty little fish, you were."

So they had seen him transform. But they thought he was a mermaid. It was a blessing and a curse; they didn't know he was a nymph which meant his pearl was safe, but they thought he was a mermaid and now they wanted to eat him. The question remained, should he tell them? But the likelihood of them believing him was low, they would just think he was trying to get out of being eaten. Which was true. 

"So, you're still not speaking." The captain let the arrow drop to the desk and looked at Kenma a little derisively. "Not that anything you say matters. But I'm a little curious to hear a mermaid's sweet voice."

Kenma bit his lip, he wasn't going to say anything. Eventually the captain would get bored, and he would be led outside and then all he needed to do what was jump overboard and he would be free. He just needed to wait. Let him talk, he would grow tired of him eventually. 

 


End file.
